The New Yorker Reveals Democrat's Secret Plan For 2010 Midterms

James Surowiecki at The New Yorker offers up the secret sauce that will save Democrats from a wipeout this November. Got your pencil ready? The Democrats ingeniously back loaded stimulus spending so that its main impact would occur during the 2010 midterms. Notwithstanding that this assumption, were it true, would make liars of folks like the President, the Vice President, Christina Romer, Nancey Pelosi and Harry Reid (all of whom promised immediate relief and an 8% cap on unemployment) the brazeness of the admission is noteworthy.

Mr. Surowiecki knows this and offers the fig leaf of Federal Reserve monetary policy to airbrush his main point that half a trillion dollars in stimulus will hit the economy just as elections roll around. That’s some comfort, to be sure, for the four million unemployed in the interim. Here’s what the real political calculus of the uninhibited liberal mind looks like:

That backloading of the bill was good economics: with the Federal Reserve doing less to pump up the economy, an extra half-trillion dollars in fiscal stimulus will help pick up the slack. It was also good politics, since much of that money will be flooding into the economy during the key second and third quarters. Republicans in Congress would presumably block any Democratic attempt to pass another major stimulus, both for ideological reasons and because they have no political incentive to see the economy improve. (While you might expect all incumbents to pay the price for a poor economy, in Sides’s words, “It’s really only the President’s party that suffers when the economy’s bad.”) Pushing much of the stimulus spending off until this year made that less of a problem.

Did you get that? Republicans would act only for ideological reasons because they have no incentive for the economy to improve. But Surowiecki refuses to pass such judgement on the cynical Democrats that let millions wallow in unemployment for purely politcal means by assuaging their minds with fairytales about Fed policy. This passage illustrates the narrow world of the liberal mind that predominates in policy discussions today. It’s also a good insight into how those 50+ Democratic congressmen must be rationalizing their imminent demise.

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Republicans would act only for ideological reasons because they have no incentive for the economy to improve.

Well, that much is true: Republicans really don’t have any incentive to improve the economy as long as credit for it would go to Barry Lackwit and his fascist hordes.

However, it’s also true that Republicans really have no say in the matter as long as the said fascists control Congress and the White House. Thus, Republican intentions, whatever they may be, don’t mean squat. The economy will not improve significantly as long as Lackwit is in charge. And I’d like to think that a majority of voters are smart enough to understand that and do something about it.

Brett

The economy will not improve significantly as long as Lackwit is in charge. And I’d like to think that a majority of voters are smart enough to understand that and do something about it.

Well, expect them to have to see through an onslaught of “Fantastic Economic Recovery News” that their lapdogs in the media will innundate us all with. It’s already started with this NYT article:

But expect to be told repeatedly that if you don’t think there is a recovery, you are a knuckle=dragging moron, redneck, racist, facist, teabagger, militia member, enemy of the state etc, until November. And that every single bit of bad news is “unexpected” but really not what it seems.

davidt

James Surowiecki has just now figured out half the stimulus package was going to be spent on helping the Dems in the mid-terms? He just figured that out just now?

Wow, he’s sharp!

ODA315

See davidt, that just proves how much smarter libs are.

Thank goodness he’s pointed it out to us dim hicks from the sticks.

bobdog

Many of us have posted comments about the cynical political calculations that went into the timing of stimulus spending, just as we complained about about the 10 years of taxes to pay for 6 years of Obamacare, the “jobsjobsjobs” spending that mainly went to government employees at the expense of millions of unemployed in the private sector, timing the Iraq withdrawal plan so it occurs just before the mid-term elections, sweetheart deals for union members at Government Motors and Chrysler, the public flogging of “scab management” at Toyota, the partisan distribution of stimulus funds to Democrat constituents over Republican constituents… Maybe I’m cynical, but it seems to me that almost everything Obama has done since he took office has a partisan motivation. What we’ve got is a narrow-minded, calculating Democrat president, not an American president. We’ll see how history judges him 10 or 20 years from now, but I’d bet a big lunch that it won’t be favorable.

I could go typing on all night, but the conclusion is obvious to anybody with half a brain. Putting our country in the hands of the Obama administration and an all-Democrat Congress is the single biggest electoral mistake this country has made in my lifetime. If you doubt it, ask yourself if you’re better off than you were two years ago. Still got your house? What’s it worth? About 30% less than it was. Still got your job? What’s it worth? Personal incomes per capita have fallen by 3.2% since Obama took office. Bought a GM car this year? Worst products they ever made, according to Fortune. Ready to retire? Social Security is already paying out more than it takes in.

This sucks.

And it ain’t gonna get better until we do some serious housecleaning in Washington come next November. It’s time to take out the trash and put some grown-ups back in charge that have at least a fifth grader’s understanding of economics, whether it’s the current crop of Republicans or not. It’s time to take our country back.

BluesHarper

You would think that this is all common knowledge or you/they could figure it out. But the Dems seem to understand their sheeple. The only opinion they, the sheeple, will have is the one that the MSM hands them. The MSM will puff up the magic recovery, if there is one, of the large part of the stimulus bill money’s effect will have – or they think will have – on the economy. (sorry for that convoluted sentence)

I couldn’t agree with Brett #3 more.

How do you get the sheeple to quit believing the MSM’s & Dems smoke and mirrors?

It drives me nuts to hear the sheeple repeat what they heard on the “news”.

Am I the only one who is getting tired of, what feels like, pushing a rope?

I had a friend tell me that he is almost to the point where he’s thinking, “screw it” & let the Dems run with this Socialism just to teach them a lesson.

In my pin head that is stupid because once you fall off the cliff it’s too late to say, “I told you so” – because we’re ruined at that time, and I don’t want to see that!!!

Is it because I’m so gullible as to believe the “sky is falling, the sky is falling”. Or is the sky falling?

“Barry Lackwit” – hahahahahaha Good one!!!

SteveCan

The real question is … What drug is Mr. Surowiecki abusing?

Tsar Nicholas II

They’re still publishing the New Yorker??

Jim Addison

ROFLMAO!!!

If this was indeed their nefarious plan – and I do not concede Obama, Pelosi, et al are deep enough thinkers to formulate such a plan, but rather they did believe the stimulus would immediately improve everything, and spread it over two years so the spending was split between two years – they really need smarter planners.

The effect of an infusion of capital, whether by government spending or private investment (although the former brings a minimal economic multiplier, or even negative by some analysis, while the latter yields much greater returns) takes about six months for its effects (however great or small) to be felt in the economy. So far, so good, Nancy!

BUT ~ public perception of the economy and actual employment also lag the improvement by several months. So the time to set up the Party for November 2010 was the 4th quarter of 2009. Darn! Missed it!

If it was a plan, it was also doomed to failure by the built-in bugaboo which will be hitting us by the end of the 3rd quarter: the expiration of the Bush tax cuts equals the 2nd largest tax increase in history, and ObamaCare adds to that, just as our deficits have exploded for the foreseeable future and we have record debt to auction. The facts on the ground aren’t good.

Paul Hooson

I’m in favor of people voting their incomes. Mine is increasing by thousands each month with the current government we have.

http://fullthrottle.cranialcavity.net Marc

Hooson: 1. You’re so full of shit your eyes are brown. 2. If not, you won’t have your cash for long nitwit.

That’s obama-cash, you’re only a temp holder of it.

http://wizbangblog.com Jay Tea

Again Mr. Hooson demonstrates the mentality of the left: they are truly the ones who have a “I’ve got mine, to hell with everyone else” mindset.

Thanks, Paul.

J.

retired military

Paul Buffoon said “Mine is increasing by thousands each month with the current government we have”

What business are you in? Bankruptcy litigation? Home foreclosure? Loan shark legbreaker? unemployment consultant?

wodiej

don’t think it will work. There are too many other damaging things the Democrats have done. They have squandered a rare opportunity by having all of this political capital and managing to anger well over a majority of this country. I doubt they will get another chance before hell freezes over. There are enough stupid people to keep voting for them but I don’t believe it will be enough to make a difference.

http://mikesnoise.typepad.com Michael Laprarie

rm – actually Paul owns at least one grocery store, I believe in the Seattle area. Too bad Paul doesn’t provide us with details about how his income is increasing — I would guess he has cash invested in the stock market or he is buying foreclosed properties cheaply and then renting them at premium rates, plus he has probably made some significant cuts in labor costs at his store. Perhaps a better metric of the Democrats’ chances for success in the fall would be how the personal incomes of Hoosen’s employees/tenants have fared during the last two years.

Now back to my original comment … I was going to say that the Democrats’ deliberate plans to withhold stimulus money until the election, which has kept perhaps millions of Americans unemployed, reminds me of FDR’s absolute refusal to meet with Herbert Hoover after the 1932 election to discuss a plan to prop up the nation’s banks. Roosevelt wanted all the credit for himself, so he let countless banks fail between Nov. 1932 and March 1933, plunging millions more Americans into poverty. Indeed, the end (political victory for Democrats) justified whatever means were necessary.

zaugg

It only reasons that Paul Hosebag could have his income percentage up. Mine is down by 20% into 5 figures so someone has to make the averages ‘down’ to 3.2%. Paul, you can just mail your social justice directly to me.

Hank

Re: “That backloading of the bill was good economics: with the Federal Reserve doing less to pump up the economy, an extra half-trillion dollars in fiscal stimulus will help pick up the slack.”

No, that backloading of the bill was a political calculation, not good economics. And they tacitly admit that all they’re doing is buying votes with money they have to borrow anyway.

I’d rather see the half trillion go to reducing the debt/deficit.

Side note: Notice how easily they all use terms like half trillion nowadays? You’d think it isn’t real money.

Michael

Hoosen lives in a fantasy world…did you see that photo of hium with his wild beard….he looks like a nut.

epador

Now Michael, its not fair picking on appearance. Paul is only trying to blend in. We’re talking “Keep Portland Weird” land up here. He wouldn’t last a second if he dressed like a Capitalistic Pig making great profits over the toiling masses of other aging hippies, LGBT baristas, extremist velocopedophiles and vegetarian strippers that make up the majority of the local population.

Same reason my hair is past my shoulders. Its survival mode, brother.

914

Hooson-

“I’m in favor of people voting their incomes. Mine is increasing by thousands each month with the current government we have.”

So You work for ACORN on the side than? Send some of those stolen stimulus funds my way mountain man.

Oyster

I’m conflicted. I’m not sure if the Dems are that smart or that conniving or both. When I read from week to week some of the totally STUPID things they say and do I’m not even convinced they have anything perched atop their brain stems.

And good ol’ Paul’s back.

Hello Paul!

“…plus he has probably made some significant cuts in labor costs at his store.”

He doesn’t have to. He’s only paying minumum wage by his own admission.

Paul is a braggart. I’ve found that usually people who feel a pressing need to remind you at every opportunity how smart/rich/attractive they are, are usually none of those things.

Paul Hooson

The current economic recovery is uneven. Some businesses, like my own Portland grocery business, are experiencing big growth since December, auto sales are up. But some other segments are hurting. Many folks on “Main Street” are still suffering though, and don’t see their personal finances improving right now.

How well the Republicans do, or the Democrats don’t do, is largely dependent on personal subjective evidence of whether their own personal finances have improved. Like many recent elections, this 2010 election will be about the economy.

If a person is real partisan, then they want to see candidates of a particular party elected no matter what. while other folks like me just like to see money in my pocket, and credit who’s in power for a part in that.

infidel

As far as the chain smoking nutty professor is concerned remember……..deception, cheating and lying is OK for the cause of both peaceful and violent jihad.

epador

Paul, you missed a big chance to say “its all Bush’s fault” you are making money.